Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is the Scottish Government agency responsible for economic and community growth across the northern half of Scotland.

HIE believes that renewable energy currently offers the Highlands and Islands a critical, but time limited opportunity to develop a world leading industry which could offer significant long-term and sustainable economic and social benefits. HIE is committed to supporting the development of a range of technologies at both commercial and community scale. In recent years, HIE has worked closely with the renewables industry to produce economic conditions conducive to advancing the technology and creating jobs.

This work has been multi-faceted and driven as a partnership between central and local government, the renewables sector and local communities. Among the innovations to result from this colloborative approach has been the establishment of the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney and the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company, now known as Community Energy Scotland.